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Awalking simulator, shortenedwalking sim, is anadventure game that consists primarily of movement and environmental interaction. Walking sims sometimes includepuzzle elements, and generally do not have combat mechanics or traditional win/lose scenarios. While these video game elements originated in the 1980s, the term began to be used pejoratively to refer to new games as walking simulators in the late 2000s, notably withDear Esther. The term was eventually used less pejoratively and adopted bygamers, while still being negatively perceived by some game developers and retaining negativegameplay connotation. Other descriptors have been commonly used for games of such style, including empathy, narrative, and exploration game. Such games are often a hallmark ofart games, but some mainstream games have been described as having walking simulator elements.
The central elements of walking simulators are controversial due to purported lack of challenge, and discontent of such games became common in the mid-to-late 2010s among"hardcore" gamers. However, the artistic aspects and emphasis on decision-making and morality are appreciated and remain popular across other video games.
Walking sims are centered around exploration, with the player being thrown into an unfamiliar environment that ranges from mundane to fantastical. The player uncovers aspects of that environment, gaining an understanding of who inhabits it and whether or not it is hostile. Most walking sims lack aspects such as combat,strategy, oreconomic systems. Most are also created byindie developers, although major titles such asDeath Stranding have been referred to as walking sims.[1]
Walking sims sometimes includehorror game elements, adding tension to the exploration aspect. Though mostsurvival horror games include combat and other actions the player can use to survive, some games–likeOutlast andParatopic–remove combat abilities, which leaves the player without any means to otherwise react to events. These games can be seen as walking simulators as they help to create an emotional response in their narrative by removing player agency to react to frightening events, combined with the ability to insert visual and audio cues designed to frighten the player.[1]The Exit 8, a walking simulator inspired by theP.T. demo, requires players to walk down the same passage of a metro subway station repeatedly, turning around if they notice any differences in the passage from previous travels, creating a psychological horror experience for the player.[2]
The name "walking simulator" often has negative connotations, implying that thegameplay is tedious and mundane. Critics, includingGamergate proponents and"hardcore" gamers, contend that walking sims are not "real games", asserting that games must include some sort of challenge or fail condition and that under this definition walking sims do not qualify as games.[3][4]
Game developers–including Dan Pinchbeck, co-creator ofDear Esther–reject this narrow definition in favor of a more expansive and inclusive one.[4] The initially pejorative term "walking simulator" was later embraced by fans, going so far as to be used as a descriptiontag to help users find similar games on theSteam digital distribution service.
The term is sometimes used in anironic manner.[5] For example, upcoming gameBaby Steps byBennett Foddy has been described as a "literal walking simulator" because the character must directly control the character's legs.[6]
Fans and developers continue to debate whether the gaming community should continue to use the term, or switch to something else. Those in support point out the mental andhealth benefits of walking as a sign that it is not inherently derogatory as a genre label. Detractors characterize the label as dismissive and condescending, relating it to other insults like "social justice warrior", although some have expressed a feeling of inevitability that it would continue to be used for the foreseeable future.[3][5]
The first known walking simulator was anindie game,The Forest, developed as anorienteering simulation by Graham Relf for theZX Spectrum in his spare time. Intended to be based around map-making and navigational skills, it allowed the player to navigate a vast virtual forest. It eventually received a commercial release, and was praised for its originality. A 1980sscience fiction successor,Explorer, took place on a forestedEarth-like planet and featured 40 billionprocedurally generated individual locations, randomly combining graphical components. It also had a rudimentary combat system that allowed the player to shoot arrows at ghost-like creatures, as well as a form offast travel viateleportation. However, the game was poorly reviewed by most outlets due to its slow pace, calling it more of atech demo than a fully-fledged video game. BothExplorer and its predecessor were therefore consideredcommercial failures.[7]
In 2003,[domestic], an art game developed byMary Flanagan, reusedfirst-person shooter environments to reconstruct a childhood memory of a fire.[8] In 2012,Dear Esther, a walking sim about exploring an unnamed island, was a breakout hit that popularized the modern incarnation of the walking simulator, receiving a large amount of positive critical acclaim.[9] Despite receiving backlash, it was seen as a radical concept.[10] It was directly followed byGone Home in 2013,The Vanishing of Ethan Carter in 2014, and, later,Firewatch in 2016. Walking sims started to be recognized by critics, with three of the 2016BAFTA Games Award winners being walking simulators.[9]
As walking sims rose in popularity, some gamers began to voice dissatisfaction with the emerging genre.Gamergate, beginning in 2014, added momentum to claims that walking sims are too "feminine"[11] or "political"[3] because they are generally story-focused, do not contain player combat, and often deal with themes such as race, class, and identity.[3][11]
Beginning in the 2020s, several walking simulators that made use of theliminal space aesthetic were developed,[12] includingAnemoiapolis (2023),The Exit 8 (2023) andPools (2024).[13]
Walking simulations remain primarily a product of indie game developers.AAA studios have mostly refrained from creating walking sims, although there is a possibility that environments created for standard games could be reused without combat, as in the educational "Discovery Mode" ofAssassin's Creed Origins andOdyssey.[1]
In 2017, Nicole Clark ofSalon.com called walking sims "the most artful and innovative genre within video gaming", saying that it was "here to stay".[8] In 2019, Rachel Watts ofPC Gamer stated that walking sims "have challenged the way in how video games are played, experienced and defined", and that some of the criticism over their mechanics has begun to shift.[9]
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